MURREE: The oath-taking of the federal cabinet was postponed on Wednesday as the leadership of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) could not finalise names for the portfolios.
Sources said that the ceremony was to be held at the President’s House in the evening on Wednesday but delayed for a couple of days as decision regarding the allocation of ministerial portfolios could not be finalised in time.
Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi held a meeting with toppled Nawaz Sharif at his Murree residence on Wednesday to deliberate over names of the members to be given portfolios in the new cabinet.
Shahbaz Sharif, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Saad Rafique and Khawaja Asif attended the meeting.
Abbasi told reporters after the meeting that that the new cabinet would be formed in a day or two. However, he refused to comment on whether or not Nisar will be the interior minister or at least in the cabinet. “The federal cabinet’s oath-taking has been postponed. Discussions are under way for the new cabinet and the new ministers will take oath in a day or two,” he said.
When asked if Nisar was being considered, he said he had nothing to say about it for now. The federal cabinet is expected to retain a majority of the members on the same posts that were part of Nawaz Sharif’s cabinet.
To a question, he said PML-N leadership also discussed the party’s affairs and the upcoming by-election in NA-120. He expressed the confidence that the people would get the PML-N candidate elected with heavy mandate.
When asked about the PML-N’s candidate for the upcoming by-poll for the NA-120 constituency ? a seat left vacant after Nawaz’s disqualification ? Abbasi said that there was still time left and discussions regarding the matter were underway.
Replying to another query, he said former prime minister Nawaz Sharif congratulated the PML-N parliamentary body for the continuity of democracy and the system with heavy mandate. He said Nawaz wanted that the work on these projects should be expedited to show the world that a prime minister could be changed but the policies could not be altered.
Published in Daily Times, August 3nd 2017.
